Etymology
Malheur (pronounced phonetically by residents) is French for "misfortune," "bad fortune," or "unhappiness," most likely taken from the Malheur River that flows nearby. Peter Skene Ogden, a trader accompanied by French-Canadian hunters, explained in his journal in 1826 that the Malheur River was so named because property and furs that had been hidden in the vicinity had been discovered and stolen by natives.
Read more about this topic: Malheur Butte
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)